Lime Soup from the Yucatan

We had tons of amazing food on our trip to Mexico summer before last and among one of my favorites was this delicious, hot, refreshing, limey soup. They call it Sopa de Lima, aka Lime Soup. It is a rather creative name... (sarcasm anyone?). However, it was one of my favorite dishes I had while in Cancun. It was one of the dishes I set out to recreate almost as soon as we got home. Sopa de Lima originates from the Yucatan portion of Mexico and one website calls it "the Yucatan's version of your grandmother's chicken soup." That is a very fitting description! It's great when you're feeling sick.

As I scoured through recipes, I found a lot of different versions that were not what I had experienced in Mexico. Some had tomatoes, some had red or green peppers, others had cilantro. So instead, I just made my own and I must say, I actually like it better than what we had in Mexico. I have shared this recipe before on another blog, but I have since refined it and made it a little better. You could expand on this recipe by adding those other ingredients like I mentioned, bell peppers, tomatoes etc. I have done it both ways and it's all delicious.

INGREDIENTS

2 chicken breasts

1 medium onion VERY thinly sliced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1-2 jalapenos, seeded and minced 

2-3 teaspoons of dried oregano (Mexican oregano would be preferred)

8-10 cups of chicken broth
Salt & Pepper

1/2 cup of lime juice

Avocados, limes, cheese, cilantro and tortilla strips for toppings

DIRECTIONS

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onions, garlic and jalapenos in some cooking oil. Add in the chicken breasts and brown on all sides. Deglaze the pan with a little of the broth and then add the rest of the broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let it simmer for 30+ mins over medium-low heat (the longer the better). Take the chicken out and shred it. Return chicken to the pot. Add lime juice and cook for 5 mins more. Serve with fried corn tortilla strips, diced avocado, cheese and lime wedges to heighten the lime flavor. 

This picture is from when I made it with a can of diced tomatoes and a chopped bell pepper

London Broil Marinade

My husband is very much a "meat & potatoes" kind of guy. And I have made it my life's work to serve meat that doesn't make him reach for the bottle of BBQ sauce. Although, that is a very tall order for me because that boy loves his BBQ sauce... a lot. I try not to be offended when he goes for the BBQ, he just really loves it.

This has been my third attempt at making London Broil and I think it has been turning out pretty great, very minimal BBQ sauce. I made it for Valentine's Day dinner with potatoes and asparagus, Darin loved it! There is nothing more romantic than having a HUGE dinner, right? ... Maybe not... But it was delicious and I will certainly be making it again!

As for ingredients, I really do hate mustard, with the exception of spicy brown mustard. Although, I only use it for marinades, potato salad and deviled eggs. It works as such a great binder for marinades and brings a lot of flavor. This recipe came into creation when I started pulling things out of my fridge and cupboards, mixing them together, smelling the mixture and making adjustments. It was completely spontaneous and this is the way it turned out. The marinade has some great basic flavors that pair beautifully with the meat. You could use this on any kind of steak and it would be delicious. But I really love a good broiled piece of London Broil. I hope you enjoy!! Let me know if you try it out!

YUMMMMM with roasted onions, potatoes and balsamic glazed carrots

INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS
Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour marinade over meat in a ziploc bag and refrigerate overnight. Let meat rest out on the counter for about 30 minutes prior to cooking. Broil meat on a foil-lined baking sheet on the rack that is one space down from the very top. Broil for 5-6 minutes, flip it over and broil for another 5-6 minutes for meat that is medium. Shorten or lengthen the time depending on how you like your meat. Use a meat thermometer to check. Remove meat from the oven, loosely cover with foil and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes before slicing.

Our "fancy" Valentine's Day Dinner with London Broil, asparagus and potatoes

The "Melanie" Way of Making Mashed Potatoes

I know, I know... mashed potatoes... They are so simple. But I figured it would be a good idea to put it down on "paper" and make a post for my mashed potatoes. There really isn't anything special about them except the egg. Adding the egg is an idea I got from a Shepherd's Pie recipe a few years ago. The egg makes the potatoes get a little brown on top when you put the Shepherd's Pie in the oven. However, it add such a rich and full flavor to mashed potatoes, that I started doing it any time I make mashed potatoes. So without much of an intro, here are my mashed potatoes:

INGREDIENTS
5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup of butter
1/4-1/3 cup of milk
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
1/4-1/3 cup of parmesan cheese
1 egg

DIRECTIONS
Place prepared potatoes in a pot of water and boil on high till the potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain the water from the pot and add butter, milk, salt and pepper to the pot. Using a handheld mixer or potato masher, mash all ingredients to the desired consistency (smooth or lumpy). Add the cheese and egg and quickly mix. It is important to mix the egg in quickly so that the heat from the potatoes doesn't make your egg go sunny side up. Once it is mixed in, the heat from the potatoes will "cook" the egg so you aren't eating raw eggs. Serve potatoes plain, with gravy, crumbled bacon... or whatever you like.

Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

DISCLAIMER: I am not any kind of expert with Greek food. In fact, I am pretty new to it. But I love the flavors that Greek food uses so I have started creating some of my own recipes. They may not be authentically Greek, but they are inspired by Greek flavors. So basically, don't be hatin' on me if my Greek food isn't Greek enough for you.

Darin has always been a great facilitator of me trying new cooking styles. And his love of gyros has inspired me in the past few months to try my hand at Greek food. I have made basic chicken gyros a few times and I think it is time to share. There are two parts to this recipe, one for the tzatziki sauce and one for the chicken. If you have the opportunity for grilling, DO IT!! It will be so much better than the way I had to make it. Prepare the chicken the same way, just skewer it with some chunks of onion, artichoke hearts and throw it on the grill! On a side note: I used store-bought hummus for my gyros but I know that it is really easy to make as well. I decided to be lazy and buy some delicious roasted red pepper hummus from the store. Be sure to stuff your gyros to the brim, if its not falling apart while you are eating it, then it's not a real gyro!

YUMMMMMMMM

TZATZIKI SAUCE 

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups plain greek yogurt
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced
1 clove of garlic, grated or finely minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Juice of one lemon

DIRECTIONS
Mix everything except the yogurt together in a bowl first, then stir in the yogurt. Cover and chill for at least an hour or two to get the best flavor. Stir again before serving. You can use this on your gyros, kabobs or just eat it plain with some pita bread.

GREEK CHICKEN GYROS

INGREDIENTS

2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, grated or finely minced

2 tsp ground marjoram

2 tsp ground coriander

Salt & Pepper

1 cup of marinated artichoke hearts, thinly sliced

Juice of one lemon

Pita bread, hummus, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped olives, feta cheese, tzatziki sauce

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl combine chicken, onions, garlic and toss with marjoram, coriander, S&P until evenly coated. Heat a large frying pan to medium heat and add 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add chicken and pan fry on all sides till almost cooked through. Add the sliced artichoke hearts for the last few minutes until they are heated through. Top with lemon juice after adding the artichokes. Build gyros with a warm pita, hummus, chicken, veggies, cheese and tzatziki.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Whenever I buy bananas, I am never able to eat them all before at least one gets over ripe. Every time, with out fail. I will peel the over ripe banana and put it in a bag in the freezer. When I have collected 4-5 of them, I usually make banana bread. Over-ripe bananas are the best to use when making something like that because they are so soft and easy to blend in without being too lumpy.

However, this last time when the bag of bananas was full, I decided to go on an adventure and make muffins instead. I came across a recipe using lots of healthy ingredients so I decided to give it a whirl! Of course, I had to put my own spin on it and mix it up. They turned out great and Darin especially loved them! One thing I would have loved was to add some chopped nuts, walnuts would have been great! Feel free to mix some in if that sounds good.

Word to the wise: eat them quickly! Because they are so fresh and use such natural ingredients, they will go bad fairly quickly. You can freeze them if you don't think you can eat them all right away.

INGREDIENTS

(Yield 12 muffins)

2 cups whole-wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

2 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup agave nectar

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (but not hot) 

1/4 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional

2 tsp flax or chia seeds, optional (I prefer to grind them up first)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, combine bananas, applesauce, agave, coconut oil, milk and vanilla. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Stir in chocolate chips/flax/chia if desired. Divide batter into a greased muffin pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes until light golden brown on top. Enjoy!

Batter with out chocolate chips

Read for the oven!

They are so yummy, hot from the oven!

With chocolate chips!

Life As a Cooking Blogger

Well, it has been about a week since I launched my cooking blog and I have had a few people tell me that they tried some of my recipes and they loved it! That makes me so excited!! You might be wondering what life is like as a famous cooking blogger.... but I couldn't tell you. On the other hand, MY life is just about the same as it always was. The only difference is that I am always hungry now because I am constantly thinking of new things I could create and it makes me want to run home and try it out! Not the best perk in the world.

However, I am excited to keep at this and see were it takes me. I have tons of ideas in my head rolling around for some new recipes. I have kept it pretty simple so far, and I am looking forward to showing you some more exciting things! PLEASE let me know if you want me to cover a certain topic or style of food. I am more than happy to take your requests! Thanks for all the love and support, LOVE YOU!! <3

Cherry Tomato Balamic Pork/Chicken/Salmon

Sometimes I like to pretend that I eat healthy. Now don't get me wrong, I don't eat tons of over-processed, fatty junk foods and fast food. I do try to keep my pantry free of lots of pre-made meals and processed foods (granted I do have a couple boxes of mac & cheese in my pantry, to my shame). But I do enjoy using butter, sugar and all those things that can pack on the fat and calories.

This meal in particular is one of the healthier ones I have come up with lately. It is essentially just balsamic-glazed meat with tomatoes. You can use chicken, salmon or pork, all are great. You can add some mozzarella or parmesan if you like cheese (let's be honest, if you don't like cheese, you shouldn't be on my blog). Sage or thyme are both great with balsamic. Toss in some zucchini, broccoli or asparagus. Serve it with white/brown rice or pasta. I just love balsamic anything! I have even had balsamic ice cream and it was awesome, so when I say that I love balsamic you know that I mean it! But the options with this concept are endless!

TIPS:
Pork chops will usually cook faster than if you were to use chicken or something else, FYI
After adding the tomatoes, shake the pan every once in the while to get the tomatoes glazed on all sides
Balsamic vinegar will caramelize and then burn quickly if you leave it alone too long, keep a close eye and keep it moving!

I used pork and served with mashed potatoes and a salad this time!

INGREDIENTS
4 portions of pork chops, chicken breasts or salmon
2 cups of cherry tomatoes
1 Tbsp of dried thyme/sage
1 tsp garlic powder
3-4 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp of olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Parmesan/Mozzarela cheese

DIRECTIONS
Heat a large skillet with a lid to medium heat, and add olive oil. Season all sides of your meat with salt, pepper, garlic and thyme/sage. Once your pan and oil are thoroughly heated, add meat and cook for 3-5 mins on each side (meat should not be cooked all the way through yet). Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the meat and continuously spoon the balsamic back over the meat for about 2-3 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes to the pan and cover with a lid for a few minutes more until meat is cooked through and the tomatoes have popped. Serve over rice or pasta and top with cheese if desired. Add a side of veggies to make a complete meal!